Ft. Worth mayor seeks fix of rail line

Fort Worth officials and
regional planners have long tried to get federal support behind solving the
infamous freight train delays at a railroad intersection south of downtown, the
Dallas Morning News reports. Mayor Mike Moncrief on Dec.21 seemingly made more
progress with one phone call than North Texas politicians have made in years of
lobbying federal lawmakers. Moncrief's audience: Vice President Joe Biden.

The Fort Worth leader was
one of four mayors who participated in a conference call with Biden. The
conversation centered on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, how it has
helped cities and what has caused problems. Moncrief said he took the
opportunity to try to gain federal support for fixing Tower 55, where BNSF and
Union Pacific rail lines meet near downtown Fort Worth. There aren't enough
tracks for all the trains that come through the intersection. Thus, freight
trains routinely sit idle as they wait their turn to make it through Fort
Worth.

"Time is money for the
railroads, and time is money for the companies that they serve," Moncrief
said.

But he doesn't just
consider the matter a local problem, because it's a major intersection for two
major national railroads - one running north and south and the other running
east and west.

"I consider that to be
a national security issue and would appreciate some additional attention from
the administration," Moncrief said. "We have tried without success on
either side of the aisle for some assistance in helping create a permanent and
meaningful fix to the issue."

Such a fix could cost in
the billions. A change would mean creating rail lines that go around Fort Worth
or a bi-level intersection. Moncrief said the intersection is already so bad
that officials don't want to interrupt service. And just about any solution is
going to require extra land.

"We've got some
options, but all of them are expensive," he said. "All of them have
political complications." He said Biden promised he would follow up on the
matter. A member of the vice president's staff is supposed to let Moncrief know
in mid-January what kind of priority the project has within the administration.

The other mayors on the
conference call were Chris Coleman of St. Paul, Minn.; Joe Riley of Charleston,
S.C.; and AC Wharton Jr. of Memphis, Tenn.